1st Circuit: Judge should not have ordered Bob Barr to appear on 2008 ballot

The 2008 presidential election is long over, but a dispute over which Libertarian candidate was on the Massachusetts ballot remains.

Today the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s ruling that under the Equal Protection Clause candidate Bob Barr was entitled to have his name on the ballot, even though signatures had been gathered in the name of another candidate.

“In light of the state’s legitimate interest in ensuring that the candidates who appear on the statewide ballot have demonstrable support among the voting public, the modest burden imposed upon non-party candidates by requiring them to secure signatures, rather than piggy-backing upon signatures collected for other candidates, is not so onerous as to present an equal protection problem vis-à-vis candidates affiliated with recognized political parties,” wrote Judge Bruce Selya.

Selya added that the requirements for getting on the Massachusetts ballot were the same for all candidates. “They do not specifically differentiate among Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Mugwumps, or candidates affiliated with any other political organization,” he said.

The 1st Circuit also found that the “relevant statute, while not unconstitutionally vague, is in need of interpretive clarification” by a Massachusetts state court.